Wasn't able to get to everyone in a very, very crowded locker room today with a tight time limit, but here's what I was able to get.


Zia Cooke:

On Kiki Rice being her primary assignment:
"Yup. Yes it was." (with a big smile on her face)

"I was just trying to do my job and make sure I limited her to as many points as I could. It's definitely a pride thing, playing great defense. We know that's what can win games for us."

On defense being contagious:
"It flows really well. It's just something that's in us. We're a defensive team, and that's why we do what we do."

On the runs:
"Everybody just being locked in. I think we had a great team win tonight. If one person can't hit a shot someone else will, I think that's the beauty of our team. Our bench did an amazing job, so shoutout to them."


On the difference between tonight and November. We knew what we were great at, and we wanted to limit that as much as we could."

Kierra Fletcher:

On defense:
"It's super contagious. We have the best defense in the country, and I think that showed today from top to bottom. We showed we can guard anybody. We just played extremely, extremely good team defense especially in the first half when our shot wasn't falling quite as much as we'd like. But we kept them shooting not a great percentage either."

On stopping UCLA:
"I think we just sped them up a lot. I think we're just locked into the game plan, locked into what we were praticing in practice and we blew up a lot of their sets. I think that kind of hurt them."

On on getting off to a quick start:
"It was super important. We've been saying that we wanted to start a little bit better, and I think that we did today. I just think everyone played well. Our defense was great, offensively we kind of opened it up in the seocnd half. We just played great team basketball throughout."

On the 3rd quarter runs:
"I think it's a mixture of both. I think coach does a great job of making adjustments."

Victaria Saxton:

On defense:
"I just think it kind of shows that we're a defensive team, and that's who we've been all season long."

On the differnces between this game and the last UCLA game:
"I think we were just kind of locked in and focused on what we were doing. We were focused, and we know what we're trying to get to ahead of us. We have to take it one game at a time, and this was one of the games ahead of us."

On UCLA's foul trouble:
"It just tells you to keep going at them and hope that the ref will continue to call it."

Laeticia Amihere:

On defense:
"It's amazing. It's something we take pride in. We held them to 15 points at halftime. We came into the game and knew we had to get some stops to get a win."

Said they did "everything" better this game than they did in the last game against UCLA and they are "clicking a lot more" as a team. "We have a lot more experience under our belt, and we just showed it today."

On another rematch on Monday:
"I said this before, I think Coach does a great job of scheduling a great pre-season poll schedule for us. We're playing the best teams at the beginning of the season, and we have a little bit of familiarity with these teams. We knwo what to do, and we're preapred for it."

On the home crowd advnatage:
"It was so amazing. We were watching the other game and when we got up, everyone was cheering us. It's so great to have a home court advantage cheering us on."

Raven Johnson:

On defense:
"It just tells you about our team and our drive for playing defense. Defense wins championships, and we take pride in our defense."

On what went better this game than the first UCLA game:
"Our defense. It started with our defense. We didn't really have our best offensive game, but we took pride in our defense and it led to offense."

On foul trouble:
"When people get in foul trouble we just try to attack them and get them out of the game. And we have some of the best post players, so we just try to attack them."

On playing with Kamilla:
"I just throw it to the girl and let her go get it."

Kamilla Cardoso:

(She was on an exercise bike doing this interview because Aliyah took over her space)

On defense:
"I think we were just more locked in, we were able to stop their guards. Our guards did a great job on them. I think Brea Beal, Bree Hall and Zia did a great job guarding the guards. Beal, she is incredible. She can guard your forwards, she can guard your posts, she can do everything."

On it flowing through the roster:
"When I see them clapping up and playing it up and getting a stop, I'm like 'damn, I need to get a stop.'"


Talaysia Cooper:

On her block:
"I honestly do think I got it clean."

Said she's never had a block like that in college but did in high school, but it's not a big deal. "I got back on defense," she said.

On defense in general:
"When you see everybody else locked in on defense, that's going to make you want to lock in on defense. Defense wins championships, offense wins games."

Olivia Thompson:

On defense:
"That's definitely something that our team just takes pride in as a whole, that we have that many defensive threats out there on the court. It's just hard to beat us. It defenitely spreads through everybody. Everybody is motivated by each other to just bring that energy every single time. Our starting five, they're great examples of great defenders, so everyone just kind of takes the lead from there."

On the difference between this UCLA game and the last one:
"I think we struggled offensively, but I think when we struggle offensively our defense just naturally picks up even more. I think just on the defensive end we were way sharper. We understood our assignments more. I think we were on more in every aspect of the game."

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South Carolina is still in the game with 4-star state of Florida RB Anthony Carrie who released his top 6 today on Twitter.

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I continue to feel good about the Gamecocks position here and this 2024 OL class is stacking up to be even better than 2023 class.

We're hearing that DL D'Nas White and RB Tate Titshaw are on campus today for unofficial visits. Gamecocks in the mix for quite a few RBs right now and I expect they'll take at least 2 in this class. Anthony Carrie, Peyton Lewis, and Jayden "Duke" Scott all come to mind in addition to Titshaw. We've actually spoken to each of those guys if you check out the articles posted on their linked profile.


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9-8. It just means more!

COLUMBIA – Due to the forecasted all-day rain on Sunday, the University of South Carolina baseball team and Missouri will play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 25, beginning at 4 p.m. There will be two nine-inning games to wrap up the three-game series with a 45-minute break between games.

TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket holders who have Saturday, March 25 SERIES GM2 reserved tickets will be able to sit in their seats for the 4:00pm game until the game concludes and then move to the Corner Pantry Berm/SRO areas.

Ticket holders who have Sunday, March 26 SERIES GM3 reserved tickets can come in for the 4:00pm game and go to the Corner Pantry Berm/SRO areas and then move into their seats when the second game begins.

Season parking pass holders can use their Game 2 or Game 3 parking pass for either game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

Multiple sources are reporting that Josiah Thompson, who I've had a futurecast in for South Carolina since December for, is set to announce his college decision on April 11th. He'll be choosing between a top 6 of Georgia, South Carolina, Clemson, Tennessee, Miami and Alabama.

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UPDATE: The new date is actually April 14th at 9 am. This is just due to getting more family around for the announcement.

For either day I have 2 tickets in section 9 row 9
or 2 tickets in section 15 row 18 or 2 tickets in
section 18 row 16 or 2 tickets in section 19 row
7 or 2 to 4 tickets in section 6 row 16 or 2 to 4
tickets in section 16 row 7 $20.00 per ticket
or best offer Call or Text 803-446-1163.

Story with quotes from Mark Kingston, Jonathan French and Caleb Denny about the win of the season so far for South Carolina baseball.

I've looked at four mock drafts. Two have him as the 14th pick, one at 15 and one at 21. All see him as a project that will get drafted on potential.

Is there any reason to stay at this point? If he's a consensus 1st round pick, then the first two years of his first contract are guaranteed. Using last year's numbers for the mock draft projections that would be either $8M, $7.6M or $5.7M. That's some real cash.

Of course he could try and play his way higher (even 10th get's you $2M more than the 14th selection), but then he runs the risk of being exposed if his "potential" doesn't start to show itself.

I can confirm that Dayton PF Mustapha Amzil and Minnesota PG Ta’Lon Cooper are on campus this weekend to see if transferring here would make a good fit. @Perry McCarty has been all over potential portal targets.

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Cooper is originally from Roebuck, SC and is rated as a 4-star transfer.

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Amzil is a 3-star portal prospect. He averaged 9.3 pts and 4.8 rebounds this past season as a sophomore

Hello from Founders Park. I am back from Greenville and ready to take you through the first game of this series.

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South Carolina lineup tonight:

2B - Will McGillis
SS - Braylen Wimmer
1B - Gavin Casas
C - Cole Messina
RF - Ethan Petry
DH - Carson Hornung
3B - Talmadge LeCroy
LF - Caleb Denny
RF - Dylan Brewer

Meechie will almost certainly return. Players have a window to declare for the NBA draft before withdrawing their name and keeping their college eligibility. This is common place and will help Meechie acquire information about areas he will need to improve to have a chance at being drafted. The fact is, no NBA team will draft Meechie at this point in time.

Quotes from the locker room going into the Sweet 16 game against UCLA tomorrow.

Kierra Fletcher:

On the first UCLA game:
"That was a tough game. They played us super well. In the second half we played a lot better. It was super competitive, and we came out with the win."

On what's different about UCLA:
"They're palying extremely well. They move the ball a lot, they cut off the ball a lot, they play well each other. We just have to make sure we stay engagted with them."

On how South Carolina is different:
"For starters, me and Raven were both on minute restrictions. I think that plays a lot into it. Now we're full go, everybody is healthy, and we're more gelled together than what we were in November and December. We're just a much better team and playing cohesively."

On if she expects UCLA to sag off her again:
"Honestly I don't know, but if they do I'm going to have the confdience to take those shots."

Zia Cooke:
On having familiarity with UCLA:
"It doesn't matter to me, to be honest. We did play them, but they're a way better team than they were. We're just prepared for whatever they're going to throw at us."

On what's different about UCLA:
"I think how patient they are. They're very, very patient with their offense and that's something I was able to realize down the stretch."

On how she wants to be remembered:
"I just want people to remember that I take basketball very seriously. I take winning very seriously, and I don't take any shortcuts. I just want people to remember me as a person that gives it my all, is a very hard-worker and is very loyal."

On playing with the freshies:
"I think it means a lot. I think what really means the most is that we stayed together. But we all stayed together, we've watched each other grow into the women we all have become and we're going to finish together. I think it's a beautiful thing."

On guarding Kiki Rice:
"She's a great player. She's a downhill driver. She's a very smart guard, very young but we have a lot of respect for her. We know we have to handle her because she can get hot."

Victaria Saxton:

On what's different about UCLA:
"I mean, they're who they are. They're an aggressive team."

On South Carolina's mindset:
"We're going to be who we are and not change."

On the UCLA game:
"We had a struggle with our layups and finishing our drives, but I think that's not going to be a problem this time. We're going to be who we are and play our game."

Raven Johnson:
On the first UCLA game:
"I remember I had a brace on. I remember being nervous, but we were just adjusting then. I feel like we were trying to find the pieces of our team, but this time we're for sure ready."

On her confidence:
I had the brace on. I was mentally scared of my knee, but this time I'm very confortable."

Said she knew she was fully back "In the middle of the season." Said her teammates told you "you're strong," with regards to taking the brace off, and she shotued otu the team's training staff.

On playing with Aliyah Boston:
Shoot, I'm pretty sure everyone would want to play with her. She's dominant, and she's so unselfish. She doesn't care about what she has, she always wants everyone on her team to be better."

Laeticia Amihere:
On the differences between UCLA now and November:
They're going to prepare a lot better for us. They've seen us play a lot more games. They're going to try to throw a lot of different defenses at us.

On if she expects a slower pace game than November:
"I don't think so. We're ready to go. We're going to try to slow them down, that's for sure, but we're definitely going to be able to run the floor and do what we do."

On South Carolina's growth:
"We have a lot more experiences and have seen a lot more defenses. We're ready for anything they can throw at us."

Kamilla Cardoso:
On her performance against UCLA:
"I think we were just posting up hard and they were feeding me the ball."

On what's different about UCLA:
"I think they're just a better team, but we're also a better team so we're just ready for this game."

On playing with Boston:
"She's the best role model anyone can have. She's a great leader, she's always pushing me to be better, she's always pushing me to work harder and she helps me to stay confident with myself. She's always leading everyone to wherever they have to be or whatever they have to do. She's just a great role model."



Sania Feagin:

On the first UCLA game:
"I just remember mostly that we started out kind of slow trying to get our groove."

On what's differnet with UCLA:
"They're more athletic. They're together now. They learned each other and they started playing as a team defensively."

On stopping UCLA's transition:
"That's the game plan. We know their gameplan and we're ready to execute it."

Olivia Thompson:

On what's different with UCLA:
"I would say their patience within their offense is top tier. That's something we're really going to have to be aware of. We're going to have to stay engaged until someone puts a shot up or that horn goes off. We just have to stay engaged and know who their key scorers are, but still have to be aware of all the screening they do because they do a lot of screening."

On what's different with South Carolina:
"We've definitely grown so much. I'd say for us we've just really tightened up our defense even more than it was before, and I think we're way more efficient offensively. Just getting the ball into the post and being consistent in that area."

On how many times she's re-watched the shot:
"A few. Just a few for me, but my dad said that he's watched it double-digit times."

On who reached out to her about it:
"I heard from my fifth-grade teacher, but it was awesome. I didn't even have her number and then one of my friends said she wanted to get in touch with me. It was nice to re-connect with her."

(She said they're going to go to lunch together when they get a chance)

We’ve been hinting for a few weeks now that this was the most likely scenario, but Jackson said himself on Instagram that he plans to declare for the NBA.

Here’s a clip of the announcement from a Gamecock fan on Twitter.

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I wrote about Nick Emmanwori this week, with quotes from Emmanwori himself talking abouth his mindset and Torrian Gray on what he sees with his develoment track.

Live updates from Torrian Gray and Justin Stepp's press conferences.

Recruiting update with Walker, within he talks about relationship with Gamecocks' coaching staff.

Hearing from:

Nick Emmanwori
O'Donnell Fortune
Mo Kaba
Stone Blanton
Terrell Dawkins

What a game — wow! Last three minutes were incredible. Those Cavender twins are the real deal — in looks and how they play.

Thread on the road midweek for the Gamecocks at Charlotte. Michael Braswell is making his first start of the season and Eli Jerembeck is on the mound. First pitch is coming up at 6:05 p.m.